Valentines Day At Home: Shakshuka, Champagne, and NY Cheesecake

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Um, really?  It's almost March already?  Yeesh.

Let's not even go there on what that means for my book deadlines... the important thing is that I only have a couple more days to write a Valentine's Day post and have it be remotely relevant!  So here we go.

Sometimes the only good thing about life in greytown...

Pin It ...is the proximity to Italy!

Usually, the bf and I can't afford the airfare, much less the accommodation, but we had a little windfall last month, and rather than spend it on silly things like heat or groceries, we decided to blow it all on a whirlwind trip to Naples.

And boy, were we glad we did!  Here are a few pics of the most important part of our trip: the FOOD!

A healthier comfort food: Whole Wheat Sunflower Seed Bread from Joy the Baker

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I can't even go there with you on how bad these pictures are.  All I can do is apologize for baking this bread at night, and then promptly consuming (with the bf's help, of course) the entire loaf before having a chance to photograph a slice in daylight.

 
 I'm so ashamed.

Does it count as daytime eating if the sun never really comes out?

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Anybody recognize that dark-yet-festive table?  Hazard a guess what it's set for?  I'll give you a hint: see that red stuff in the pitcher?  Bloody Mary.  Hells to the yes.  That's right, it's another brunch!

This time, the star of the show was a baked egg recipe, with smoked salmon, arugula and leeks, topped with manchego cheese and freshly ground black pepper.  Oh my goodness.

Baking with a near-empty cabinet: Pecan Pie Cookies

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What first attracted me to these cookies was the promise of flourless, butterless baking.  I always seem to be running out of flour, butter, eggs, and/or brown sugar (which I can't seem to find in the big-ass bags I need, given how much I love it), and the thought of a recipe for cookies that eliminated the need for two of those things basically had me at hello.  And then I tried them, and if I wasn't sold before I sure am now!  These little circles of tastiness are easy, relatively quick, and can (in most households) probably be made with the dregs of your last grocery shop.  A definite keeper.

Another famous recipe from Gram: Mexican Brownies!

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Remember those cookies I told you about a while back?  The ones that are amazingly delicious and addictive but a little finicky?  Or the pumpkin pie, which basically put my mom's family on the map, baking-wise?  Well, they're not the only recipes my grandmother handed down– the trump card, her ace in the hole, the ultimate indulgence, was her recipe for Mexican Brownies.

Now, I know I say 'ridiculous' a lot, but this time I mean it.  These things are ridiculous.  I mean, a whole box of powdered sugar for the frosting?  Buttermilk AND margarine in the cake?  This is serious stuff, guys.  Sugar overload, and it hurts so good.

Think you don't like olives?

Pin It Well, think again!

Both my father and the bf claim to hate olives.  Usually when we go out to dinner with my parents, bowls of marinated olives are left entirely to my mom and me, the salt/vinegar lovers.  But a few years ago, my parents were visiting London and we went to a restaurant called Pied à Terre for lunch.  The food was very good, and the service was pleasant, if a bit obsequious, but what we still talk about to this day were the olives. 

Fighting winter as best we can: Mom's Chicken Pozole

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London is a cold, grey place lately.  I haven't seen the sun much (which is why you haven't seen nice pics here much), and I'm getting really really tired of finding dresses I can wear over tights/leggings without sitting at my desk all day, pulling at my midriff self-consciously.

On that note, I'm also trying to eat more foods that could be classified as 'healthy.'  Not that I'm avoiding badness altogether (stay tuned for a ridiculous chocolate cake/brownie recipe), but I have decided that one way to warm up in the midst of all this mist is to eat healthy, hearty, delicious soups.  Preferably with chili.

And that's where this pozole comes in.